When You Called My Name
by basketkitty
Summary: Carter is a pastor. You all know that. But he doesn't believe what the other townsfolk do. And when he is introduced to a certain farmer, she expresses religious views that he strongly detests. It doesn't help that she's so cute, either. EllixCarterxClai
1. Dust Dancing in the Wind

**I wrote this many months ago, and I don't think I'll be continuing it. I merely wanted to post it here to keep track of all my stories and whatnot. :3**

Carter sighed. It was the end of a long, boring day, and the sun was streaming through the stained glass windows of the church, playing with the floating dust motes. He gazed around the empty church, and sighed again. The only person who ever came regularly was a young man named Cliff, but he was always silent, wallowing in his depression. Carter kept trying to talk to Cliff, but he couldn't get much of a response.

There was also two other people who stopped by on Sundays. They were the owner and clerk of the Supermarket, Jeff; and the young girl who lived and worked at the Poultry Farm, who went by the name of Popuri. Carter was glad that at least these three people stopped by, but he longed to see the entire village packed into his small church, just to listen to him preach the gospel. But, there was no need for him to do so. They all lived by the few rules of the village. They never stole, they never fought, they never even swore! Carter was just as redundant as Harris, the constable of the town.

For a third time, Carter sighed. His head began to throb from being inside for so long, and his feet ached from standing up. He stepped down from the pulpit, and went into the small confessional, where he pulled off his robes. He sat down in the small cramped area, and leaned back. He closed his eyes for a minute, when he suddenly heard someone entering the church. Carter jumped up, quite surprised, and hit his head on the low ceiling. Mumbling a little, he came out of the confessional, and realized that he forgot his robes. He was just wearing his clerical, waist-length cassock, and dress pants. Panicking slightly, he turned around to go back in the confessional, and get his robes, when a soft voice called out.

"C-Carter?"

Carter froze, and swallowed. He knew that voice only too well. It was gentle as a spring breeze, and ever so calming. He turned around, slowly, smiling nervously.

"H-hello, Elli."

Elli giggled, "Oh, where are your robes?" Her smile suddenly vanished, and was replaced by a light blush. She pressed the back of her slender hand over her lips, "Oh, I'm sorry, what a silly question!" She giggled.

Carter chuckled, "It's fine... What brings you here?"

The young woman stepped quickly over to Carter, her long, many-layered dress making it hard for her to walk properly. Her short, brown hair bounced as she waddled awkwardly over to him. Carter couldn't help but smile at this. She was just so cute. He lightly pinched himself for thinking these thoughts, though, and concentrated on what Elli was trying to say.

"I wanted thank you!" She exclaimed, stopping short of him, and clasping her hands together. She smiled widely up at him, "When you helped me pray for my grandmama, last week. She almost stood up, today!"

Carter gave a huge grin. His eyes were wide with wonderment, and he laughed, "Prayer is a very powerful thing, Elli! I'm so glad that your grandmother is feeling much better! But, you also have Doctor Trent to thank. He was the one who helped the most."

Elli shook her head, closing her chocolate brown eyes, looking gravely serious, "No, Carter... If it wasn't for you to help me and Trent when we were little, I wouldn't be standing here, today."

"Ah..." Carter blushed a little more deeply, "We weren't that young..."

Elli tipped her head to the side, smiling playfully, "Mm, maybe not, but if you think about it... Fifteen years ago sounds like quite some time."

"Heh, I suppose..." Carter shook with silent laughter.

"Oh!" Elli perked up, smiling broadly, "Tomorrow's your birthday, right?"

"Eh?" Carter looked thoughtful for a second. He often forgot about the dates, and time what with every hour melting into the next during these boring days, but she was right. He laughed aloud, "Ah! I had forgotten!"

"Twenty-nine, right?" Elli asked, making sure she got his age right.

"Uh, y-yeah..." Crater scratched the back of his head, feeling rather old, "Wow, almost thirty... People soon can't call me young, anymore!"

Elli gave a light giggle, "Oh, I dunno... You'll always seem young to me!" She glanced around, and noticed that the sun no longer came through the church windows, giving a gasp of shock, she turned to Carter, and bobbed a curtsy, "Ah, I really should go. It's getting late!" She started for the door, giving Carter a friendly wave.

Thinking fast, Carter blurted out, "Want that I should walk you home?" He stepped closer to her, preparing to follow.

Elli simply shook her head, "No need. The dogs won't come out for another hour, and my home is just a block away..." She turned around and placed her hand on the doorknob, "I appreciate the offer, though..." She then left.

Carter clicked his tongue in disappointment, and shook his head as he made his way to the door, anyways. He pulled out a key, and locked the double doors, then went back over to the pulpit, running his hand over to pews as he passed them by. Once he got to the stand, he bent down behind it, and lifted a latch located there. He tugged at it, until the trapdoor opened, revealing a small futon, a pillow, and two blankets; one thin, the other thick. There were pictures, as well, hidden underneath the beddings.

Carter disregarded the photos, and pulled out his bed. He laid everything out, and took off his shoes. He prayed, silently, and laid down, staring up at the ceiling of the church. He had memorized the place of every beam, smudge, and cobweb above him. After a few minuted of simple staring, his eyelids finally close, and he was succumbed to sleep...


	2. Faraway Memories

The sun had risen two hours ago, streaming through the windows of the church. It was a little stuffy, despite the fact that was late autumn.

Carter rolled over in his sleep, and fell onto the floor. He opened his eyes, and stared back up at the ceiling, his legs entwined in his blankets. He sat up, and removed the bedding, scratching his head sleepily. He folded the blankets, and the futon, then opened the trapdoor to put them away.

He stopped once he saw the pictures on the bottom, and pulled them out. They were your regular photos, of family members, and young children. The one that interested Carter the most, was of himself, when he was fourteen. He was wearing a dark green full cassock, and holding a large, black bible. He was standing in front of the church, laughing with delight.

Carter remembered the day well. It was when he had become a pastor. Well, not a full pastor, of course, but a helper, like an alter boy. It had had a dream of a voice telling him to do so. The voice didn't have body, and it was neither male, nor female; soft, nor harsh; quiet, nor loud.

_'Pastor Carter...'_ it had said.

Although he wasn't a pastor, then, he knew that that what he was supposed to be. His parents didn't approve of him doing so, they wanted him to be a doctor, like his best friend, Trent. Still Carter was insistent that a priest was what he was called to do.

[i]Knock, knock, knock.[/i]

Carter was dragged out of his memories by a gentle knocking on the church door. He quickly stuffed the rest of his bedding away, pulled his shoes on, and ran his fingers through his hair, in an attempt to make himself presentable. Just as he was about to enter the confessional to get his robes, there was a much louder knock.

"Mm..." Carter decided to just go and open the door. It was still a little too early for Cliff to come, and it wasn't Sunday, so Jeff nor Popuri would be stopping by. He hurried over to the church door, and unlocked it. He opened the door to come face to face with Elli. She had a little flour on her nose, and her cheeks were flushed. Behind her stood Doctor, towering over the small woman by more than a head. The tall man's black hair fell into his dark gray eyes, and his face was alight with a kind smile.

"Oh, good morning, Elli... Doctor Trent. What brings you here, today?" Carter asked as he took a step back, allowing his visitors to enter.

"Morning, Carter," Doctor stepped in, and shook the priest's hand. Carter was always liked to think of himself as rather tall, but Doctor always loomed over him like a tower dressed in a lab coat. The pastor chuckled a little at the image.

"Morning!~" Elli sang, "Happy Birthday! I made you a cake!" she declared, holding out a box that Carter just then noticed she was holding.

"Oh, um... Th-thank you!" he said, accepting the cake.

"Claire will be coming by with lunch in a bit. She wanted to finish harvesting her yams. Really! It seems that whenever I visit her lately, she's harvesting those yams!" Elli placed her hands on her hips, feigning mock exasperation.

Carter smiled as he placed the cake on the pulpit, and returned to his friends, "Who is Claire?"

"Y-you don't know who Claire is?" Elli gaped at him.

"Woah, you need to get out more, buddy," Doctor laughed.

Carter scratched his head, and motioned at the pews, "Yeah, well... It's not like I can really leave this place, right?" he sighed, "How about you guys take a seat and tell me about her?"

"Okay~" Elli flounced over to one of the pews, and sat down.

She placed her hands on her lap, and looked expectantly at Carter, who sat a little a ways from her, to give her room. Doctor sat right beside Elli, and listened as Elli told Carter about her friend.

"Seriously, Carter. She's been here since the New Year's! How could you not know about her?"

Carter shrugged, "Well, Jeff is usually feeling too ill to speak, Popuri can't keep something on her mind for more than a minute, and Cliff, well... Cliff is just plain silent. If I didn't hear him praying every once in awhile, I'd assume he was mute," he laughed.

"Well, okay, then," Elli nodded, and entwined her fingers together, "She's the farmer over by the Poultry Farm. She's really friendly, and just super nice. She's notorious for giving people presents made from the produce she makes. Have you tried the milk she gets from her cows; my gosh! it's delicious! Oh... Sorry!" Elli laughed a little, "But, later you can taste it for yourself! She als-"

"Hold up, Elli," Carter raised his hand politely to stop the woman's chatter, "Why... What I mean to say is... Well, I've met everyone in this town at least once. You say she's been here since Spring, correct? Then why hasn't she stopped by in the three seasons she's been here?"

"Oh... well. I-I don't really know... Oh!" she raised her fingers up to her lips as she gasped, "Yesterday, when I was telling her about Grandmama's walking -and that it was because of you praying for her- Claire wouldn't believe me, and told me that the prayer theory was 'balderdash' as she so put it."

Carter furrowed his brow, "Hm, that wasn't very polite. Nor true."

"I know! But, after she saw how upset I was, she apologized, but still wouldn't take back what she said about it."

"Maybe she doesn't believe in God?" Doctor interjected.

"Still," said Carter, "she could still believe in praying to the -ahem- 'Harvest Goddess'," he blanched.

"Maybe she's an atheist?" Doctor suggested, shifting a little at Carter's obvious dislike of the town's 'deity'.

"Hmm... Yes, that would probably make sense..."

"Umm... What is an 'atheist'?" Elli blushed at her ignorance.

"Uh, simply put," Carter tried to explain, "it's a person who does not believe in God. Or, someone who doesn't believe in _any_ gods, or goddesses."

"Ooohh..."

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why don't they believe in any?" Elli repeated.

"Well, atheists are generally very intelligent, and tend to make reasons as to why God isn't real. Then, it just makes sense as to believe why any other so called 'god' isn't real, really. But as for the true Lord... Well, I'm not quite sure," Carter shrugged, quite embarrassed about his lack of knowledge on the subject.

Elli thought for a second, and opened her mouth to say something else when the church doors opened up.

"H-hello?" a timid voice called out.

Elli stood up, and faced the doors. She smiled widely at the young woman who stood in the doorway, holding a basket that was full of small packages wrapped in white cloths. Carter had never seen the woman before. Her long blonde hair was let down, and her bangs framed her sapphire blue eyes. Her body was clad in dirty, torn overalls, with a red, plaid turtleneck sweater. She was blushing, from embarrassment and from the cold outside. Carter jumped up, and gave a short bow.

"W-welcome to Mineral Town Church. I am P-pastor Carter. M-may I help you?" he stuttered.

Elli giggled, "Oh, please, Carter. This is Claire!" she hurried over to the farmer, "Hello, Claire! Thanks so much for coming!"

"I-it's not a problem," Claire blushed even more at Carter. She handed the basket to Elli, who accepted it and waddled off to set it on the pulpit by the cake. Claire looked around, and scratched her nose, "Sorry for taking so long to get here. I dropped about half of my yams, because of my dog, so I was busy trying to salvage most of them. And then my sheep refuses to get better, so I had to go and buy him some more medicine. Really, I've been taking wonderful care of him, but he just doesn't seem to be getting any better! I might just have to sell him back to Barley, if he keeps it up," she puffed her cheeks out, and crossed her arms.

Doctor looked at Carter, and gave a sly, knowing wink. Carter smirked in his friend's direction, and motioned for Claire to sit down.

"That is a terrible shame... Why don't we pray for him to get better, soon?" he suggested.

Claire snorted, "Pfft. Pray? What on earth is talking to yourself gonna do anything?"

The pastor raised his eyebrows, and tried his best to not look too affronted.

Claire seemed to realize her mistake, and pouted, again, "Oh, yeah. A church, right."

"Is that a problem?" Carter asked.

The farm girl flipped her head, "Huh, no it isn't. But, I'll be taking my leave, now. I don't feel like being preached to about my religious views," and with that, she left, her blonde hair swaying to the rhythm of her steps.

"Claire!" Elli tottered after the girl.

The doors closed before she could reach her destination, and she bowed her head, beginning to sniffle a little.

"Hey, hey... Elli, don't cry..." Carter stood beside the young woman, and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Oh, Carter... Why won't she understand? Why doesn't she see what we see?" Elli sobbed, turning to look at him.

"Elli... That's pretty much what an atheist is..."

**There ya go. Now I've made you addicted to a story that doesn't exist... Joking, joking! XD **

**But, seriously, don't be expecting any updates any time soon. D: I'm too lazy...**


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